Cotton Bowl 2013: 5 Things to Watch for in Non-BCS Showdown

The 2013 version of the Cotton Bowl has everything a BCS bowl game could dream up—except it's not a BCS bowl game.

Alas, the name is only a trivial piece of information. When Texas A&M and Oklahoma square off in this year's Cotton Bowl, it will be one of the most anticipated showdowns of the entire college football bowl season.

Why is the anticipation of the clash between the Sooners and Aggies so high?

3. A Clash of Two High-Powered Offenses

With two high-powered offenses on display, this Cotton Bowl will be special to watch.

On one side, you have the freshman. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner has dazzled and wowed fans to the tune of 10 victories in his last 11 games.

On the other side is seasoned veteran Landry Jones with his cast of powerful receivers. Kenny Stills, Justin Brown, Jalen Saunders and Sterling Shepard have all tallied over 500 yards receiving this season.

4. A Poor Man's National Championship

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If the BCS National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Alabama didn't exist, you'd have to figure that this matchup would be the next best thing.

Texas A&M's only losses on the season were against Florida and LSU. More recently, they won on the road at then-No. 1 Alabama. In fact, some analysts consider them the best team in the country as of today.

Oklahoma is no slouch, either. The team's two defeats have come against current No. 1 Notre Dame and Kansas State. The co-Big 12 regular-season champions have the talent to play with any team in the country.